Eric Red

The Crimson Trail by Eric Red
A Joe Noose Western #4

Joe Noose is a man among men, a bounty hunter, kills when necessary but brings them in alive when he can. This time he plays a bit of a sleuth as he looks for a serial killer working his way through the men herding cattle on a trail drive. Why are the drovers falling like bowling pins? Who is killing them? Will Joe find the killer before everyone is dead? Throw in an evil cattle baron, his henchman and posse, a few fights with fists and show more guns…and don’t forget the serial killer and you have the makings of a rip-snorting, root-tooting, rollicking Western yarn.

What I liked:
* Joe Noose: almost bigger than life but very real, fast and deadly with gun and fists, a survivor, reliable, steadfast, loves Marshall Bess Sugarland, intriguing, sees things through, a man I admire and would want on my side.
* That the story picks up from where book three ends.
* The writing and plot
* Laura Holdridge: cattlewoman, widow, ranch owner, on the trail herding cattle with her team, good woman, someone we may hear more of in the future.
* That there was more than one bad guy to hate and learning how each one was thwarted.
* Copper: Joe’s faithful steed.
* That all my senses were engaged.
* Feeling I was part of the story.
* That Joe was true-blue to Bess.
* Thinking about what makes people evil…
* All of it really except…

What I didn’t like:
* The bad guys…it was easy to hate them and hope they would meet their comeuppance(s)
* Knowing that I will have to wait to find out what will happen next.

Did I like this book? Yes!
Would I read more in this series/by this author? Without a doubt!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Pinnacle Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars show less

Branded by Eric Red
A Joe Noose Western #3

The prologue provides the background event that was a catalyst in the life of a thirteen-year-old boy who would become Joe Noose. Joe is a sheriff when the story begins but his past has been varied and interesting though we don’t hear many details about that time period. Coming into the series on book three was fine as I was easily able to get a feel for Joe and what may have happened in the previous books.

What I liked:
* Joe: a big man in more show more ways than one. He is strong, enduring, has a credo of his own, gets the job done, does what it takes, loves his horse, doesn’t have a biological family but may be on the way to having a chosen family. I like him.
* Bess Sugarfoot: a strong woman, a marshal, the daughter of a marshal, a force to be reckoned with, can take care of herself, good friend to Joe, believe there is more to her than I met in this book.
* Ethan Ford: a marshal working with Joe and Bess to bring in The Brander is hiding something, and it is a big something that is a bit of a twist when exposed.
* That though there was violence not all of it was graphic…some was left to the imagination.
* The gritty feel of the time on the trail and the realness of what that might have been like
* The plotting, writing and way the story was told. Some scenes may have seemed over-the-top or too much but it fit with the story and characters and was good fun.
* Not knowing it all in advance and being someone that often reads the end of a book first that is saying something.
* That this portion of the series felt complete
* The way the introduction to book four was made.

What I didn’t like:
* What I was meant not to like…the bad guys and the way they behaved. It was easy to be okay with the way they ended
* The loss of the animals…always makes me sad to have an animal misused, abused or die in some sad way.

Did I enjoy this book? I think I did
Would I read more in this series/by this author? I believe I would

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington-Pinnacle for the ARC – this is my honest review.

4-5 Stars show less

Review copy

With apologies to Eric Red, prior to getting this book from Samhain Horror, I knew nothing about his work. Turns out, Eric is an American screenwriter and director, best known for writing the horror films The Hitcher and Near Dark. And based on what I just read, he's a damn fine horror writer, as well.

This is the way the story opens...

"There's a killer on the road...

He's a big rig truck driver who goes by the handle White Knuckle, and he's Jack the Ripper on eighteen wheels. For show more thirty years he has murdered hundreds of women in unimaginable ways, imprisoning them in a secret compartment in his truck, abducting them in one state and dumping their dead bodies across the country.

Dedicated FBI agent Sharon Ormsby is on a mission to hunt down and stop White Knuckle. She goes undercover as a truck driver with a helpful long hauler named Rudy in a cross-country pursuit that will ultimately bring her face-to-face with White Knuckle in a pedal-to-the-metal, high-octane climax on a highway to Hell."

If that doesn't pull you in, maybe you should be reading romance novels instead of horror.

White Knuckle has plenty of action and the title character is one sick and twisted individual. The back story on the killer's childhood was absolutely chilling.

Special Agent, Sharon Ormsby, is a wonderfully strong female character and White Knuckle has some of the most horrific scenes I've ever read. There were times I was actually cringing in my seat while reading this novel. It's that good.

If you haven't been reading Eric Red, like me just a few days ago, do yourself a big favor and drop this book right on top of your TBR pile.

White Knuckle is available now in Paperback and a variety of e-book formats from Samhain Horror.

Strongly recommended. show less

Although the beginning of this story focuses on the illicit affair of a female teacher and her male high school student, the last half of the story turns very dark and mysterious; a good mix overall. When high school student Matt and his mom, who also happens to be a teacher at his new school, move from California to Iowa, Matt finds himself magnetically drawn to an attractive young teacher who also takes an interest in helping him catch up on his schoolwork. Or so it seems. As Matt's show more relationship with this teacher, Linda, grows closer he realizes she has much more in mind than teaching him only schoolwork. They begin a sexual affair that Matt eventually ends when Linda gets too kinky for him, and he freaks out. Being dumped by a high school boy does not go over well with Linda and she vows to ruin Matt's life and goes to extreme lengths to do just that. The story is written pretty well and the pace is very good. I would guess the author has never been to Iowa, however as he calls Dairy Queen's famous creation the "Concrete" instead of the "Blizzard" and mentions that the character is going to the Vons grocery store, which there are no Vons in Iowa. He also mentions a character is headed to Kansas when he's really going to Nebraska, but details, details. It just so happens I live in Iowa, so I would catch these things better than others, perhaps. Overall I really enjoyed the book and was pleased the author took the time to personally autograph it. I won this book through a First Reads contest, and I'm thankful for it, although I do wonder if this book would still be considered sexy if the teacher had been male and the underage student had been female. Something to think about. show less